Leaves
by 90 Eyes
Summary: Koda takes Shiozaki out for a walk in the park on a chill autumn's day.


Koji Koda and Ibara Shiozaki were two peculiar kids. When you put them together, they would surely make an odd couple. One often stayed in the background and rarely spoke a word despite being in the more prolific hero class, and the other carried a larger-than-life, highly virtuous (if holier-than-thou) personality. That was why their classmates were surprised when they individually dropped the bombshell. 

'For reals?' asked Mina Ashido, who had just learned of the news via a little sketch Koda had drawn up. He simply and coyly nodded in agreement.

'I knew something was up the moment I saw that little vine wrapped around your head,' commented Kyoka Jirou.

'What's going on? Did Koda go tripping around?' asked Hanta Sero.

'No, he just started going out with that Vine Jesus girl from the other class,' replied Katsuki Bakugo.

'You mean Shiozaki?'

'Did I ask for that irrelevant extra's name?!'

'Well I just think that it's cute and heartwarming,' commented Izuku Midoriya. 'I'm just glad that he's not keeping to himself anymore.'

'Come to think of it, I don't remember him actually buddying up with anyone outside of hero class,' said Sero. 'I thought he and Jirou would hit it off after the practicals, but I guess I'm wrong.'

'If I recall, didn't Ashido think of something similar back then?' 

'Come on, surely you've taken her out at one point,' teased Mina. Koda shook his head in disagreement.

'That reminds me, how long have you been together?' Tsuyu Asui asked him. He put up his fingers, signalling something related to number 3.

'3 days?' asked Mina. 'Already? You two are so fast!'

One could slightly make out a grunt when he wrote something down on a little piece of paper.

'Oh, 3 weeks! I can't believe you didn't go on a date all this time.'

'Maybe I can help you out,' Momo Yaoyorozu suggested. 'Why don't you offer her a walk in the park?'

'A walk in the park,' Tsuyu said to herself. 'Where have I heard that before?'

'Isn't that the name of some book or something? You sure have great taste, Yaomomo!'

'It's not a book, Ashido. I'm just saying that he should take her out to Yoyogi Park; it's a great opportunity for the two of them. He loves animals, she loves nature. It's the perfect match.'

'Now that I think of it, he should probably go for it,' Denki Kaminari said in agreement. 'Come on, my boy, show her the real you! Try it out.' 

Disregarding his quirk, Koda wasn't exactly the most vocal person. However, he did have a way with gestures and notes. After classes were over, he wrote down the suggestions from his classmates and went over to the 1B dorms, in the hopes of handing his letter to Shiozaki. He was aware of Monoma's seething complex, and yet that didn't stop him from walking right inside the dorm building, searching for the girl with the vines. For someone as shy as him, she was worth pushing his inhibitions aside. Itsuka Kendo was the first to see through his intentions. 

'I'll be honest,' she said as she led him to Shiozaki's room. 'Yui and I sort of knew what was up with Ibara. And it's funny because I'm sort of doing something similar with Momo.'

Koda's eyes widened up. If he was suddenly engaging in a double date, then he really was going fast.

'Oh, so you're the quiet one in your class? I was wondering if 1A had their own Yui Kodai.'

When they arrived at the door, Kendo left him to his own devices. For a moment, he stared at the door in concern. For all he knew, Shiozaki probably wasn't inside her room. Maybe she was in the common room, but he couldn't really go look for her there. But still, he just had to find out. He gently knocked the door twice, only to be greeted with silence. When he started to assume the worst, the door opened.

'Brother Koda?' asked the vine-haired girl. As soon as he nodded, she told him to come inside. Seeing as he only came here to do this simple task, he stayed where he was, but not briefly glancing at her room. If her overtly religious character was anything to go by, her room played out like a shrine to God or a mini-temple of sorts. He spent a good three seconds looking inside before he handed her the note. As she silently read it word-by-word, things were already starting to intensify. Koda knew that she would accept his invitation, but he also knew there was a slim chance that she would reject...

'Yes, I would like to go to the park with you,' said Shiozaki. 'Is Saturday ideal for you? I rest on Sundays.'

Saturday was good enough for him. He left as fast as he came in, headed back to his dorm room and slumped on his bed in relief. All he had to do was hope that the weather was just right for the weekend. 

When the day had come, Koda checked himself in the mirror. He wasn't the type of person to do so but going out with Shiozaki was a big deal to him, so he made sure that he had to look causally proper. How he looked was good enough for him, so it was time to go, darting as fast as he could to avoid his classmates crowding around him like he just made his debut. By the time he literally walked around the corner, he just happened to bump into her.

'Greetings, brother Koda,' said Shiozaki. He replied by meekly waving his hand.

'Since it seems that you are not really a man of words, allow me to guide you.'

The young heroes-in-training couldn't have chosen a better day. All around them, leaves of various shades adorned the trees they walked underneath. Since it was mid-autumn and they had yet to wilt, the foliage really stood out against the stark blue sky. All this before they even arrived at Yoyogi. When they did reach their destination, the first thing that captivated them was the very sight in front of them. Sure, this wasn't spring and even one avenue of cherry blossoms wouldn't be found at this time of year, but the autumn foliage did enough to replace the pink blossoms. Everywhere they went, they would see leaves. Leaves being blown by the wind, leaves being strewn alongside the pathway, leaves hanging off various trees. For Ibara Shiozaki, this was already the perfect day. To see all those leaves around her was a sign that she was feeling closer to nature than she ever had.

'Hey guys!' Kendo said, creeping up behind them.

'Sister Itsuka!' yelped Shiozaki. 'And sister Yaoyorozu too. Did you know we would be here this whole time?'

'Not really,' said Kendo. 'It's just a coincidence that we just happened to come here, and...'

'It was my idea,' Momo jumped in.

'What gives?' asked Kendo, side-glancing her out of chagrin.

'This is no coincidence. You see Koda, Kendo and I had already made plans to visit Yoyogi when I heard about you dating Shiozaki. That's why I suggested you take her out there.'

'So, let me get this straight. You planned all this from the start?' asked Shiozaki. 'This plan has the convoluted makings of a demonic, spiritually irredemable villain in need of divine retribution.'

'Hey, I was just trying to make this a special day for all of us! And by the looks of it, things are already turning out well.'

'I guess so. I just hope things don't get crazier from here.'

'What are you on about, sister Itsuka?'

'For all we know, Ibara, we might end up walking into another one of our classmates. Maybe Midoriya or Tetsutetsu, I don't know. What if this is part of some grand scheme on your part, Yaoyorozu?'

'No, no it's not.' 

When the tension between the four heroes-in-training subsided, they started walking together like a group of friends normally would on an autumn day. Koda had expected to be surprised, but this element cooled down as soon as they started moving again. In fact, just walking with Shiozaki had him feeling more tense than walking with her and Momo and Kendo did. He didn't need to worry about anything; this felt less like a double date and more like a chance meeting between friends and colleagues.

'So how is it, Dr Doolittle?' everyone turned around to find Kaminari standing next to him.

'Kaminari, what the hell?!' Momo went.

'Language, sister,' Shiozaki retorted.

'This is too good,' chuckled Kendo.

All Koda could do was watch and blush profusely at the same time. Who did he come with? Jirou? Kirishima? Maybe even Bakugo?

'Let me guess, you just happened to meet each other here and just shook it off,' said Sero.

'Basically.'

'I guess I'm right, Yaoyorozu. This is part of a grand scheme.'

'Kendo, I didn't know Kaminari and Sero would be out here as well. It's not like I asked them if they had any plans today.'

'Yeah right you didn't know. I know you're one of the smartest in your class, but you don't need to start bluffing your way out of this.'

'Kendo, if it makes you feel better, I just thought of taking Kaminari out before she did.'

'Guys, why can't we all get along?' Koda sincerely pleaded.

Everyone just stared at him, wide-eyed and mouths agape. They had rarely heard him speak so to hear him was more surprising than the web of chances and coincidences they were dealing with.

'Koda...' whispered Momo.

'I'm sorry,' said Kaminari. 'I didn't know this was all gonna happen. We'll just get out of here and act like nothing happened.'

'No, no. It's fine,' said Kendo. 'After all, we could do with some more company. Especially since winter's around the corner.'

'Now that you mention it, it sucks that we have to wait for six more months until we see those cherry blossoms,' quipped Momo. 'I don't mean to sound too nostalgic, but Yoyogi's not really the same without them.'

'Well fellow sister, that's why we are blessed with those leaves instead,' replied Shiozaki. 'Enjoy them while you can.' 

When they started walking around the park for real, a pigeon flew down and perched itself on Koda's arm. The rock-headed boy promptly started petting it.

'Now I can see why he rarely says a word,' said Shiozaki, in an observant state.

'What can I say, Shiozaki?' Momo answered back. 'We rarely notice him that much, but Koda does have a way with animals. It's part of his quirk, after all.'

'You know, he could really spice this day up if he recruited more of his animal friends,' stated Sero. 'Hey Koda, say hi.'

Of course, there was no way he was going to accept this request. This day had already been strange enough; he certainly wasn't going to add to the bizarre feeling. After all, this pigeon and his classmates was enough for him.

Sensing his thoughts, Shiozaki told Sero, 'Brother, consider yourself lucky that you have been granted another day on this world. Just focus on what's in front of you.'

'Alright then.' 

With that, the six of them went around Yoyogi Park, taking in their surroundings. All they had to do was cross their fingers and hope they wouldn't meet anyone else at that point.


End file.
